User blog:Yggdrasil Magical Tree/Darth Vader VS Aliens
Okay, let's try another sci-fi battle, and see if I can get some more people actually involved. I figured that I'll use a popular warrior: Dath Vader. The Sith Lord will be fighting a swarm of a dozen (12) Alien Xenomorphs! Darth Vader vs Aliens.jpg So, let's analyze the two sides: Darth Vader: Weapon: Lightsaber. Designed as much for elegance in combat as for ceremony, the lightsaber, also referred to as the "laser sword" by those who were unfamiliar with it, was a distinctive weapon, the very image of which was inextricably bound with the mythos of the Jedi Order and their polar opposites, the Sith. The lightsaber also became synonymous with the Jedi Order's values to uphold peace and justice throughout the galaxy. This perception endured, despite the many conflicts with lightsaber-wielding Sith and Dark Jedi. The weapon consisted of a blade of pure plasma emitted from the hilt and suspended in a force containment field. The field contained the immense heat of the plasma, protecting the wielder, and allowed the blade to keep its shape. The hilt was almost always self-fabricated by the wielder to match his or her specific needs, preferences and style. Due to the weightlessness of plasma and the strong gyroscopic effect generated by it, lightsabers required a great deal of strength and dexterity to wield, and it was extremely difficult—and dangerous—for the untrained to attempt using. However, in the hands of an expert of the Force, the lightsaber was a weapon to be greatly respected and feared. To wield a lightsaber was to demonstrate incredible skill and confidence, as well as masterful dexterity and attunement to the Force. In the mechanical life-support suit that Darth Vader is forced to wear, it was extremely difficult to engage in the energetic acrobatics of "Ataru" the style he used when he did not wear the armor, an act that would quickly tire him, defeating the purpose of the aggressive style. Initially after gaining the suit, Vader was forced to rely on brute strength to batter his opponents, utilizing a clumsy method that utilized stiffly executed vertical strikes to wear down his opponent, although he included elements of "Soresu" and "Ataru" bladework in this, as witnessed by Jedi Master Roan Shryne when Vader engaged Bol Chatak. However, Vader was able to overcome this limitation fairly quickly, developing a refined version of "Djem So" that continued to include "Ataru" and "Soresu" elements, but also added "Makashi" and "Juyo" to the mix. Rather than attempting to fight through the bulky and heavy armor, Vader fought with it, utilizing the armor's weight and his powerful prosthetics to provide his blows with incredible force, while relying on the main articulation points at the elbows and wrists for precision. With this new form, Vader regained some of his old agility, and his bladework was brutally effective. He never utilized anything less than a killing blow, and his swordplay demonstrated crispness and unpredictability, notwithstanding the two-handed grip he favored. Even the most simplistic moves contained enough strength to nearly disarm his opponents. Vader proved able to apply this personalized variant in many ways, sometimes opting to fight one-handed, relying on precision and economy of movement, but thanks to the added strength his prosthetics afforded him, he maintained a great deal of power. He demonstrated this method against the likes of Olee Starstone and Luke Skywalker. However, when forced onto the defensive, Vader would fight with a two-handed grip, elbows pressed tightly to his sides with the blade held straight out in front of him, manipulating it deftly with his wrists only. This method proved effective for protecting his torso, and his vulnerable control panel, but it left his limbs open. Vader applied this defensive style against Roan Shryne during the subjugation of Kashyyyk and Obi-Wan Kenobi during their final duel on board the first Death Star. While he utilized his customized style to great effect, even against multiple opponents, Vader occasionally fell back on the clumsy and stiff vertical strikes that he used during his first weeks in the suit, unleashing a relentless, offensive barrage, as demonstrated during his duel against Luke Skywalker on Bespin. Vader apparently learned his lesson from his duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi, learning how to control his emotions when in combat and finding a way to call upon calculated bursts of the dark side while not being blinded by emotions run amok, fighting with determination and relentlessness rather than rage. Vader also trains frequently with combat droids to keep his skills sharp, using ASP-19s droids. Based on the ASP-series droid, the ASP-19s were lightsaber combat droids programmed with the knowledge of a hundred swordmasters and a dozen fighting styles, faster and stronger than an ordinary man. Vader defeated them time and again, and thus ordered new, improved batches of them. As his finesse and skill improved, Vader found that they became too easy to defeat, so much so that he took to battling them in a two-on-one matches. However, despite his skill, Vader's method was not perfect. While a strong and relentless fighter, Vader could be outpaced by more agile duelists. This flaw was highlighted during his duel with Galen Marek a.k.a. Starkiller on the first Death Star. While Vader unleashed a frenzy of bone-crushing blows, Starkiller blocked and evaded them, dancing around Vader's defenses while suffering only light cuts from Vader's missed attacks. Ultimately, Vader was quite simply too slow to keep up with Galen Marek, and was brought down, despite the numerous small wounds the Dark Lord inflicted upon him. In order to compensate for his lack of speed, Vader would unleash vicious telekinetic assaults on opponents capable of outpacing him, with unfortunate victims including Roan Shryne on Kashyyyk and Luke Skywalker on Bespin, though even this tactic could be beaten, as proved when Galen Marek responded in kind. Another duelist who proved able to stand against Vader was his own son, Luke Skywalker. In their initial engagements, Vader proved superior, though it still took some effort to defeat Luke, who displayed a great deal of skill despite his minimal level of training. However, onboard the second Death Star, Luke managed to defeat Vader. Mirroring Darth Vader's own "Form V: Shien / Djem So" technique, Luke responded with his own furious demonstration of the style's raw power. Luke proved able to meet Vader strength-to-strength, his marked increase in skill and sudden display of aggression toward the end of their bout caught Vader off guard, allowing Luke to drive back and overwhelm the experienced Sith Lord. The Force: The Dark Side of the Force. Because his limbs were severed and his body severely burned on Mustafar, Darth Vader lost much of his Force potential. As Darth Vader was believed to have had roughly eight-tenths of the strength of the Emperor. But even still, Vader wielded tremendous power and skill. Had he sustained none of his injuries on Mustafar, he would have been even more powerful than the Emperor. The Emperor, having gone out of his way to keep Vader alive, took an alternative viewpoint. Though it was true to say that he had not bargained for an apprentice that was "more machine than man", Palpatine was initially of the opinion that most of the limitations on Vader's potential power were not physical but psychological. He believed that, were Vader to fully confront his choices and disappointments to completely shake himself out of his despair, he would have been able to reawaken the incredible power within him. Yet, while Vader made progress in this regard, he was never fully able to accept who, and what, he had become. Sidious would ultimately come to realize that Vader would never be the apprentice he longed for. He would try to replace him on at least two occasions with more powerful Force-sensitives: Galen Marek and Luke Skywalker. One of Vader's talents was to be able to block blaster bolts with his hands because his gloves are composed of a unique micronized iron that could deflect anything short of a lightsaber blow. Darth Vader also seemed to favor the Force choke ability, as he demonstrated it numerous times throughout his life. Upon learning of his wife's death, Darth Vader unleashed a powerful cry that could be heard through the Force. The Dark Lord also possessed skill in the use of Tutaminis, such as when he deflected several blaster bolts from Han Solo's blaster on Bespin. Vader also had proficiency in the use of Kinetite, which he used in an attempt to defeat his son on Mimban. The Dark Lord could also use Telepathy, such as when he communicated with his son shortly after their duel on Bespin. Vader demonstrated the ability to Drain Knowledge from his victims, such as when he discovered that Luke had a twin sister. Vader also appeared to have great physical strength, able to lift a grown man by the throat with one hand, and picking up the Emperor and hurling him to his death. Whether these feats result from his use of the Force or from the power of his cybernetic limbs is unknown. However, it seems most likely to be a result of his mechanical appendages, as when he choked Kenobi in their battle on Mustafar. Besides the life support it provided his ravaged body, Vader's Sith armor also offered some protection against the blades of lightsabers. In a climactic duel with his son in the depths of Cloud City, a quick blow from Luke's lightsaber appeared to cut the armor only shallowly, although this was enough to draw a surprised cry from the Dark Lord. Because of his decreased mobility, he was at a disadvantage when dueling against beings using faster and quicker combat styles like Ataru. To counter fast-moving opponents, he would use the Force to pull out anything from his surroundings that wasn't nailed to the ground and fling the improvised missiles at his opponent. Without moving a muscle, anything from the venue of the battle could be used as a weapon to crash against Vader's opponents from all directions in a never-ending barrage. Darth Vader first used this tactic in the Duel on Mustafar, slicing shards of metal from the walls and shooting them at Obi-Wan Kenobi. Darth Vader also used this tactic to bring down Jedi Knight Roan Shryne, and most famously Luke Skywalker in their first duel on Bespin. It should be noted that Darth Vader, despite being a powerful Sith Lord, was unable to generate Force lightning. This was due to his cybernetic implants, and any attempt by Vader to generate it would cause it to backfire, electrocuting his life-support systems, causing it to short-circuit and kill him. This is ultimately how he was killed, as his act of redemption in saving his son caused him to be bombarded with the Emperor's lightning. Because Vader's Sith powers were limited due to his artificial limbs, Darth Sidious found him less than satisfactory as his heir to the Sith legacy, despite the effort Sidious spent for more than a decade to recruit Skywalker. Upon the discovery of Luke Skywalker, Palpatine concentrated on turning him to the dark side. Darth Vader's Armor details: As it was mentioned above, Darth Vader could not exist without his armor. It both gives him weaknesses and strengths that would influence the outcome of the fight. Let's analyze his armor more in depth then, shall we? Like traditional Sith armor and formed after the ancient Sith droids, Darth Vader's suit was made to be intimidating. His helmet was conical and black, with a highly polished finish. The front was carved out to fit around his head and show his "face." This helmet had a raised ridge that ran from between his eyes to the back of his head, where it merged into the durasteel, obsidian, and plasteel of the helmet itself. Two less jagged ridges swept, curving, over the eyes of Vader's mask proper and served to accent them. This helmet locked into the mask. The mask itself went halfway around Vader's head. The top of this mask was crowned with a circular interface dotted with an array of square slots around a disc of silver. This disc seemed to serve as an interface between the mask and the helmet. Made of black durasteel, these components were hermetically sealed and connected with a flat backpack that cycled air to Vader's lungs. An implanted enunciator linked to an electronic voice processor enabled Vader's scorched vocal cords to produce speech, but now with his original voice. Around the unseen part of the mask, the part covered by the helmet, were wires arranged in a design. Also hidden beneath his mask were four grill-like squares of red, accented by ridged crisscrosses of yellow wire. The face of the mask was somewhat exaggerated and angular, with two ridges above his eyes that fit in with those of his helmet. The eyes appeared bulbous. This front part of the mask was of a more highly polished black material than that of the back, being the more flexible of the two. The ridged bridge of the nose seemed lost in the largeness of the eyes, but jutted out in a manner similar to a bare skull. The mask's cheekbones were generally angular, curving slightly to join the nose at its base. The base of the nose offered one of the only hues presented other than black—silver—on the mask. This silver piece was rounded in shape, with a triangular grill growing out from beneath it that served as an air filter, further contributing to its skull-like appearance. A hermetic collar wrapped around Vader's neck and slanted forwards in the front to meet the mask at the bottom of its triangular grill. The back, which sloped slightly outward at the base of his neck, was studded with metal interfaces. The two sides of the front were edged by two tubes that followed the mask's edge until it reached the base of the triangular grill. At the end of these tubes were two silver studs. On top of the slanted front of this collar were several interfaces, with wires running back from it to the back of the collar. From the sides of the collar came two metal stems capped with a curved fixture. These, when worn, touched the outer corners of Vader's mouth. Vader's pauldrons and chest armor appeared to be one piece that protected his entire upper torso. The durasteel material was gray in hue with several black vertical stripes. This design was based highly on the pauldron that he wore during the Clone Wars though the earlier design was made with slits between the vertical armor stripes to allow for greater mobility. Around the neck of the full-shoulder pauldron was a black chain, and connected to the upper seam of the armor was Vader's black, flowing, nearly floor-length cape, made of armorweave fabric. Coming from beneath the pauldron was a black tabard that was open in the front and reached down to the ground. Vader wore a ribbed, padded, multi-ply body glove that covered everything below his neck. This flexible, quilted suit was blast-dampening. On his hands he wore black gloves, the right glove being a Mandalorian crushgaunt fitted around one of Lord Kaan's indestructible Sith amulets. Around his entire abdominal area, he wore a plastoid girdle that protected his organic and synthetic internal organs, and on his back, hidden by his cloak, he wore a flat black backpack. Over his solar plexus, he wore a chest unit that served to regulate many of the life-support functions of the suit; this had three slots and several rectangular buttons adorning the unusually vulnerable piece of machinery, if this got damaged, the Armor would fail. His belt, which went over his tabard, and also was mostly black, had three metal boxes around the front. The middle one had a silver mechanism adorning it, and the other two were symmetrical blocks decorated with several green, yellow, and gray buttons. Vader's shiny black all-terrain combat boots contained shin armor of durasteel that hinged on the sides of the foot of the boot to allow him to walk. Though the extent of Vader's injuries remained concealed by his foreboding armor, it was known that he required an advanced life-support system to stay alive. This life-support system was integrated into his armor, thus freeing Vader of the limitations inherent in external life-support equipment. Circuitry throughout the suit monitored cardiac, respiratory, and neural systems, and three slot-like dataports located on Vader's chest unit allowed access to collected diagnostic information. Like Stormtrooper armor, the suit was equipped with a sensitive temperature-regulation system, which could be controlled by a function box on his belt. This unit was powerful enough to allow Vader to walk the surface of icy Hoth without any additional protection. Impulse generators lacing the armor provided electrical impulses to stimulate Vader's muscles, providing him with great mobility and strength despite his destroyed muscles and nerves. To amplify this even more, Vader's strength and constitution were boosted by chemicals created with Sith alchemy. These were provided by the life-support apparatus in his armor, and were constantly injected into him. Vader's mask was one of the most important pieces of Vader's armor as it was detailed before, it looked intimidating, yes, but it wasn't just good for show as it was vital to his survival. Without it, he would die unless in the pressurized, controlled atmosphere of one of his specially-made meditation chambers. Inside the mask were many needles that poked into his flesh to interface with him. The pressurized helmet monitor and regulate Vader's body temperature, contained radiators to diffuse heat generated by the suit's electrical systems, and contained a primary environmental sensor that continually evaluated Vader's surroundings for potential hazards. Lenses filter out light that could cause further injury to Vader's damaged corneas and retinas. They also provide infrared and ultraviolet vision, enabling Vader to see clearly in complete darkness. Sensors in the Sith Lord's helmet relay environmental data, which is then displayed as peripheral readouts. When piloting a starship, such as his personal TIE Advanced x1 prototype starfighter, Vader could slide a second layer of eye shields across the mask's eyepieces. On his belt, Vader wore two small system function boxes: the one on his right featured a temperature regulation system and the one on his left contained a respiratory sensor matrix. The center buckle featured an audio enhancement unit built into the electromagnetic clasp of the system status belt. Also included in the belt buckle was an audio-enhancement unit, small tool kit, spare energy cell, and backup comlink. As the suit doubled as armor, the life-support system was made to be somewhat tough, though the electrical systems themselves were delicate. Vader's armor was built around a plastoid girdle that protected the natural and synthetic internal organs in his abdomen. Though Vader's heart still functioned, his pulse was machine-regulated so that it could not quicken unless directed by the suit. More visible durasteel armor plates covered his shoulders, upper body and shins. His gloves and the padding on his chest and arms consisted of blast-dampening armor, and were made to be impervious to fire and well-protected against explosions, piercing, and poisoning. In addition, his helmet and mask kept light from blinding him. When damaged, Vader's pressure suit self-sealed against wounds and burns. Once sealed, Vader's mask and armored suit could serve as an airtight spacesuit for at least a short time. He relied on an internal oxygen supply when he flew his TIE fighter in the Battle of Yavin, and he had survived surprise exposure to space during assassination attempts by mutinous Imperial officers. Vader's prosthetic limbs and all of the armor's functions were powered by dozens of rechargeable energy cells located throughout the suit that allowed Vader to travel for long stretches without recharging his armor. Even when the energy cells were depleted, he could maintain basic life-support functions through replaceable backup power cells. Typically, however, Vader recharged his suit within a meditation sphere, such as the one located aboard his personal Star Dreadnought, the "Executor" —although he could access any standard fusion furnace for this purpose. Because of his injuries, most of Vader's senses were irreparably damaged, and thus were replaced by his armor. The dark hemispherical goggles that covered his eyes filtered out light that might have caused further injury to his damaged corneas and retinas and enhanced his vision as was mentioned before; however, in enhanced mode the optical sensors in the half-globes shifted the light toward the red end of the spectrum. Its bulkiness prevented him from seeing the toes of his boots without tilting his head almost ninety degrees. Similarly, the mask's eyes were tinted red as well, this being visible under certain lighting conditions. Various displays inside Vader's helmet supplied the Sith Lord with a steady stream of data, amplifying his already formidable connection to the Force. His helmet's eye coverings provided infrared and ultraviolet vision, allowing Vader to see clearly even in complete darkness, and dampeners offered limited defense against sonic attacks, as it was already covered. The medical droids had rebuilt the cartilage of his outer ears, but his eardrums, having melted in Mustafar's heat, had been beyond repair. Sound waves had to be transmitted directly to implants in his inner ear. Also, Vader could still smell naturally, but the mask he wore amplified his olfactory senses. Vader could take food through his mouth, but only when he was inside a hyperbaric chamber, since he had to remove his triangular respiratory vent. It was therefore easier for Vader to receive nourishment through liquids, intravenous and otherwise, and to rely on catheters, collection pouches, and recyclers to deal with liquid and solid waste. Though liquids were preferable, he still had the capacity to chew if he wished, though a nutrient feed provided Vader with all the nourishment he required. What remained of his real limbs ended in bulbs of grafted flesh, inserted into machines that triggered movement through the use of modules that interfaced with his damaged nerve endings. His mechanical appendages provided him with more strength than that of an ordinary man; he could adjust the servodrivers and pistons in his forearms to provide his hands with enough strength to crush nearly anything they could grasp. With the power of his arms alone, he had the ability to lift an adult being off the ground, though he had always been able to do so with the Force, especially in moments of rage. When put to use, his mechanical legs would allow him to leap a considerable distance, and kept his knees fit enough to kneel and rise at a normal rate. His gloves were made with a unique micronized iron that could deflect anything short of a lightsaber blow. When Vader first had to walk with his new legs, he had to take slow, deliberate, thudding steps. By the time he was accustomed to his new legs, however, he retained the noisy gait, as it "announced" his coming, though he soon walked more naturally. The alloy of Vader's lower legs were enhanced by strips of armor similar to those that filled and gave form to the long glove that Vader had worn over his right-arm prosthesis; these leg prostheses were protected by the greaves of Vader's suit. Vader's boots also adhered to his artificial limbs and the soles could magnetically adhere to bulkheads if Vader wished—during an assassination attempt in which Vader was put into an open airlock, his boots remained planted to the floor while his companions were sucked out of the breach. Vader's back, specifically his spine, was not whole. Vader at some time had suffered serious spinal injury in the upper neck. However, his injuries on Mustafar did not affect the spine. This forced Vader to wear a thick electrode-studded collar that supported his helmet to safeguard the cybernetic devices that replaced his upper vertebrae. The first few vertebrae of his neck were not natural and their sharp-edged regularity suggests that they were cybernetic replacements. Bone was broken at the second and third vertebrae, and possibly the first and fourth. The spinal cord itself was not broken above the third or fourth vertebra. The severing must have been nearly but not totally complete, as he retained the ability to breathe weakly for at least a few seconds unaided. Vader's helmet was the center of the life-support system. It was fitted with an air pump, which was connected to a flat filter system worn on Vader's back. Together, the backpack and the air pump continuously cycled purified air through Vader's ravaged lungs. A small, back-up air-processing filter was located in his distinctive mouth grill, which also doubled as a respiratory intake system. Vader's life-support system also included a chest-worn, computerized control panel unit that regulated his respiratory functions. From this chest panel, a thick cable entered his torso, linking to a breathing apparatus and heartbeat regulator. The ventilator was implanted in his terribly scarred chest, along with tubes that ran directly into his damaged lungs, and others that entered his burned throat, so that should the chest plate or belt control panels develop a glitch, he could breathe unassisted air for a limited time out of his mouth, which had not been burned to the extent of his throat. A belt-mounted function box housed the respiratory sensor matrix responsible for controlling Vader's breathing. Using it, Vader could easily adjust the controls on his armor to increase or decrease his supply of oxygen. Vader's breathing was machine-regulated, but his pace of breathing quickened during physical exertion and could be overridden by involuntary emotional reactions. The respirator slowed down or sped up in response to changes in his remaining body's functions, but Vader was unable to stop it or hold his breath, nor could he slow it. Vader's breather functioned even while Vader was speaking. However, he must have used some kind of dampener or otherwise tinkered with the suit, as he was able to surprise Luke Skywalker in a dark passage near the carbon-freezing chamber on Bespin. Vader's ambush was only possible because he could temporarily quiet his loud breathing. Lord Vader's breather was seriously damaged by Force lightning during his struggle with the Emperor. Although it continued to operate to some extent, the sound of the mechanism was reduced to a strained rasp, implying that the respirator was broken. The labored breathing sound persisted until his final unmasking. His signature, labored mechanical breathing was the sound of the iron lung Vader was forced to wear. The med droids that had made the suit had inserted the redundant breathing tubes low enough so that, with the aid of an enunciator, his scorched vocal cords could still form sounds and words through a voice synthesizer in the mask. Absent from the enunciator in Vader's mouth grill, which imparted a synthetic bass tone, his own voice was little more than a whisper. Though limited by what the respirator could do, Vader could still make his respirator approximate a laugh or a sigh. Vader was able to speak even when unmasked shortly before the destruction of the second Death Star. The weakness of his voice was probably partly due to his breathing difficulty and the internal mortal wounds and damage to his cybernetic systems inflicted by the Emperor. Having had so much experience with mechanics, Vader was dismayed by the incompetence of the medical droids responsible for his resurrection in Sidious' laboratory on Coruscant. The technology in the suit was already obsolete, having been used to rebuild and create General Grievous decades earlier. While he retained his knowledge of the Jedi arts, he began to feel uncertain about his place in the Force, and while he had taken his first steps toward awakening the power of the dark side, he felt uncertain about his ability to sustain that power. He knew that he was hampered by his injuries, and knew he never could achieve his full potential because of it. At times, Vader wondered if Darth Sidious had purposely designed the armor to restrict him. There were many problems with his armor. The synthskin that substituted for what was seared from his bones itched incessantly, and his body needed to be periodically cleansed and scrubbed of necrotic flesh, and the incessant rasp of his breathing interfered with his ability to rest, let alone sleep. In the rare moments it came to him, Vader's sleep was a nightmarish jumble of twisted, recurrent memories that unfolded to excruciating sounds, and when he attempted to rest, his cybernetic limbs strained against his ruined flesh. Sounds registered as if issuing from underwater. Worse, the implanted sensors lacked sufficient discrimination, so that too many ambient sounds were picked up, and their distance and direction were difficult to determine. Sometimes the sensors needled him with feedback, or attached echo or vibrato effects to even the faintest noise. The pectoral armor that protected the artificial lung weighed him down, as did the electrode-studded collar that supported the oversized helmet, the delicate systems of the mask, and the ragged scars in his hairless head, which owed as much to what he had endured on Mustafar as to attempts at emergency trepanation during the trip back to Coruscant aboard Sidious's shuttle. The weighty cloak and pectoral plating so restricted his movement that he had difficulty lifting his arms over his head, only doing so when necessary, such as when Boba Fett set off the smoke detonator that nearly blew Vader off the edge of a cliff on Maryx Minor. In order to survive, Vader was forced to hold onto the ledge with his hands above his head. As well, Vader still had the capacity to shrug. The sleeves of the bodysuit didn't hug the prostheses as they should, and the elbow-length gloves sagged and bunched at his wrists. Only the right arm prosthesis felt natural to him—though it, too, was artificial. The pneumatic mechanisms that supplied articulation and support were sometimes slow to respond. As a result of having artificial arms, Darth Vader could neither conjure Force lightning nor be invulnerable to it. Vader would attempt to compensate for this vulnerability to Force lightning by upgrading the armor with some sort of insulation, though this was only partial protection. The monitoring panel beeped frequently and for no reason, the lights seeming to serve only as steady reminders of his vulnerability. His electrical systems were woefully delicate, and he was forced to protect his vital chest panel when dueling. This system was so vulnerable that Antinnis Tremayne was once able to deactivate Vader's entire suit by pressing one button on his chest control plate. Instead of using durasteel for his leg prosthesis, the medical droids had substituted an inferior alloy, and had failed to inspect the strips that protected the electromotive lines. As a result, the inner lining of the pressurized bodysuit was continually snagging on places where the strips were anchored to knee and ankle joints. Additionally, the tall boots were a poor fit for his artificial feet, whose toes lacked the electrostatic sensitivity of his equally false fingertips. These devices made it even more difficult for him to move with ease, much less with any grace. Raised in the heel, the cumbersome footwear canted him slightly forward, forcing him to move with exaggerated caution lest he stumble or topple over. Worse, they were so heavy that he often felt rooted to the ground, or as if he were moving in high gravity. He even felt that he needed to use the Force to move, though he eventually grew used to it. As a result of his large body and abnormal needs, Vader had to have a custom airspeeder made for him to drive comfortably in. And now, for his rival... or rivals. 12 Xenomorph Aliens, from the Alien franchize: Natural Powers and abilities: Unlike many other recurring enemy extraterrestrial races in science fiction, the Aliens, or Xenomorphs, are not an intelligent civilization, but predatory creatures with no higher goals than the propagation of their species and the destruction of life that could pose a threat to them. Like wasps, bees, or ants, Aliens are eusocial, with a single fertile queen breeding a caste of warriors. The Aliens' biological life cycle, in which their offspring are violently implanted inside living hosts before erupting from their chests, is in many ways their signature aspect. Their design deliberately evokes many sexual images, both male and female, to illustrate its blurring of human sexual dichotomy. When standing upright, the Aliens are vaguely bipedal in form, though they adopt a more hunched, quadrupedal stance when walking or sprinting. They have a skeletal, biomechanical appearance and are usually colored in muted shades of black, blue or bronze. Aliens do not radiate heat, as their body heat matches the ambient temperature of the environment in which they are found. In most of the films, adult Aliens have the ability of running and crawling along ceilings and walls. They have great physical strength, having been shown to be capable of breaking through welded steel doors. Aliens have segmented, blade-tipped tails. The sharp tip looks like a small, scorpion-like barb. As a weapon, the strength of the tail is very effective, having been shown to be strong enough to impale and lift a Predator with seemingly little effort. They are also adept at using their tails as blunt weapons, sometimes to deadly effect, as seen in "Alien" (the first movie). They have elongated, cylindrical skulls, but possess no visible eyes, though in the original Alien film, the top of the creature's head was translucent, with empty eye sockets of human appearance visible within. This element was re-used for the "Predalien" 29 years later. How the creatures see is uncertain. The Aliens' also have a second inner jaws, which are powerful enough to smash through bone and metal. Aliens have been alternately portrayed as both plantigrade and digitigrade organisms, usually in accordance to their host. Human-spawned Aliens were usually portrayed as having humanoid hind limbs with fingers and thumbs, while in Alien 3, the featured Alien sported double-jointed legs due to its quadrupedal host. This characteristic would be continued in Alien Resurrection for the human-spawned Aliens. In other words, Aliens retain some aspects of the host they were born from. Dogs and cats crate four legged Aliens, humans create two legged Aliens (even if these can walk on four legs and climb walls and other things). As we see in Alien vs Predator, they even retain traits of the Predators when born from one of them. Alien blood is an extremely potent acid and is capable of corroding on contact almost any substance with alarming speed, but other Aliens are immune to this. It is dull yellowish-green in color, and seems to be pressurized inside the body so that it spurts out when punctured, or sliced. The Alien novelization suggests that, at least at the "facehugger" stage, the acid is not blood but a fluid maintained under pressure between a double layer of skin. In later films in the series, the Aliens are shown to be conscious of the effects of their acidic blood, and even use it to their advantage: In Alien Resurrection, two Aliens escape a cage, too thick to be broken by their superior strength alone, by killing a fellow Alien so its acid eats through the cage floor; in Aliens vs. Predator a queen being held by chains apparently instructs several Aliens to slash and cut her, thus corroding the chains. This also shows us that Aliens are capable of using clever tactics, and not only relying on their strength and speed. In the Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem documentary: "Science of the Alien", it is theorized that the Aliens' acid blood could be some type of "hydrosulphuric acid" composition due to its corrosiveness and the conspicuously toxic effects on living human tissue. The documentary also speculates that Aliens are immune to their own acidic and toxic liquids due to a endobiological build-up similar to the human stomach's ability to protect itself from its digestive fluids. The documentary takes this theory one step further and speculates that the Alien organisms' protection system against its own toxic hydrosulphuric acid is protecting the rest of the organism with what is basically a bio-organically produced Teflon isolation. In the film Alien vs. Predator this is shown to be the case, as a Predator uses Alien chitin to make armor for Alexa that protects her from their blood, and makes a spear with a severed tail, so she has a weapon capable of penetrating them without being corroded (as the Predator's blades had been before). Aliens can produce a thick, strong resin (secreted from their main jaws, giving them the look of a slavering beast) that they use to build their hives and to cocoon their victims, and they can use the walls of their hives as camouflage. In the original Alien, the facehugger is shown to be able to "spit" acid, melting the faceplate of Kane's helmet and allowing the creature immediate access to the inside. This ability is also exhibited by adult Aliens in Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection; much like a spitting cobra, they use it to blind and immobilize their victims. Events on the LV-426 colony and USM Auriga showed that the species excels at observational learning and problem solving. In both cases, the Aliens managed to learn how to operate the machinery of their mechanized environments at a very basic level. On LV-426, the Aliens were able to cut the power from a section of the complex to allow themselves access to the humans. The queen was able to learn how to operate an elevator simply by observing it once. The novelisation of the film notes that the queen establishing her 'nest' at the base's main power plant could equally be the result of her selecting the warmest part of the base to make her nest or her deliberately selecting a location where any attackers would be unable to destroy her without destroying the entire facility, this is not always the case since the original Alien on the original Alien movie did not show this much knowledge, which could mean that Aliens still need some amount of time to learn how to use their enviroment. However, given enough time, they will learn. On the USM Auriga, they were able to use blood from another Alien to melt through their enclosure and escape, with the Aliens in the Antarctic temple using a similar strategy to free the queen from her chains. With the exception of the "Newborn", Aliens have demonstrated little actual emotion, save for self preservation and maternal instincts toward their eggs. Battlefield: For this battle, we'll have it that Stormtroopers from the Death Star were conducting a mission on the Alien's home planet, some of them got infected with a Facehugger from eggs, and one of them with an Alien Queen. In a matter of hours, half of the Death Star is swarming with Aliens born from Stormtroopers, Officers and other operators of the Death Star. Darth Vader, coming out of his personal chamber, is venturing alone in one of the sections of the Death Star that is controlled by the Alien Xenomorphs. He will be expecting the attack of some Aliens, but he will not know how many there will be. He will have some basic knowledge of them from Stormtrooper's reports on their fights against them. The Aliens, in turn, would have had enough time to learn to operate some of the basic systems of the Death Star. As stated before, Darth Vader will be going alone, with nothing but his Armor and lightsaber, and the power of the Dark Side of The Force. The Aliens will be 12 in total, all common Aliens, born from humanoids, the Queen will not make an appearance, as its most likely at the Death Star's core, laying eggs. So, vote now, who will win? The Aliens? Or Darth Vader? Category:Blog posts